Cast and crew gather for special screening of "The Conspirator"

Extras, crew from ‘The Conspirator’ treated to special screening

John Carrington/Savannah Morning News Jeff Youngblood, who played a Union soldier in the movie “The Conspirator,” came in costume to a screening of the movie for local crew and cast members at the Eisenhower Square Cinemas.

From left are John Deifer, Elizabeth Osterberger, Michelle Crawley, and Phillip Aultman all of whom worked as extras on the film The Conspirator. They became such good friends while working on the show that they created a facebook group and regularly meet for socials. They were among the many local cast a crew of the movie invited to a special screening at the Eisenhower Square Cinemas. (John Carrington/Savannah Morning News)

One and a half years after filming of “The Conspirator” ended in Savannah, some of the folks who worked as extras in the film not only stay in touch, but they also have a page on Facebook. As the Extra Hands, the group raises money for the Ronald McDonald House and the Make A Wish Foundation.

“We meet in bars and at restaurants,” said group member Phillip Aultman. “This group was a surprise to all of us.”

On Monday, members of the group gathered with other former extras and crew members at the Regal Eisenhower Square 6 cinema for a special screening of the Robert Redford film, which opens nationwide on Friday.

The film is set in the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Seven men and one woman have been arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the president, vice president and secretary of state.

“The Conspirator” stars Robin Wright as Mary Surratt, the real-life owner of the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met to plan their attack.

Aultman was hired for 16 days of filming and appears as a member of the military tribunal that tries the suspected conspirators. “We were together for 12 hours a day,” he said. “After the filming, we stayed in touch.”

It was Aultman’s first film, but he enjoyed the experience so much, he’s been an extra in six films since. The friendships found in The Conspirator Extras Group were unexpected, but lasting, he said.

Fellow member John Deifer plays a brigadier general who is a judge at the tribunal. “This was my first job after retirement, and it was awesome,” he said.

Despite the down time that comes in filmmaking, Deifer was never bored. “In St. Louis, the Civil War is something you learn about, but here, I’ve experienced it,” Deifer said. “Now I have a passion for this.”

Elizabeth Osterberger had already seen herself on screen when “The Conspirator” was shown at the Trustees Theater during the Savannah Film Festival last November. “I was on screen at least three times and probably more,” she said.

Osterberger was surprised at the level of bonding that still exists between the film’s extras. “We spent so much time together,” she said. “I think wearing clothes from that period also had something to do with it.”

Since the filming, Osterberger has appeared in an ABC Family movie, “My Future Boyfriend,” and in commercials. “Today, I got two callbacks from Crackerjacks,” she said.

It’s hard to follow the plot when you’re an extra in a film, Osterberger said, because the only thing you’re looking for is yourself. “You know where all the cameras are,” she said. “I knew a little bit too much.”

Aultman, Deifer, Osterberger and Michelle Crawley are the group’s committee. “We did most of the planning for this screening and then the film office got involved, too,” Crawley said.

Crawley portrayed an upper-class woman. “It surpassed anything I could have imagined,” she said.

Although the nonspeaking extras were paid minimum wage, there were benefits. “The food was first-class,” Crawley said. ”There was always plenty of food.”

Bob Durante had appeared in several films before “The Conspirator,” in which he appears as a “well-dressed gentleman” in the courtroom gallery. “I’m retired and just enjoy doing this,” he said.

Redford was informal throughout the experience, Durante said. “He came over and talked to us as a group,” he said. “He was very relaxed to work with, very laid back, but professional. He knew what he was doing.”

For Brian MacGregor, the filming was a chance to step back in time. “There were a lot of other people there in costume, and it really felt like going back to the 1800s,” he said.

“I’ve been in a couple of small films,” MacGregor said. “But my artwork has been in the background of lots of films.”

Jeff Youngblood, who works as a tour guide, came to the screening dressed as a Union soldier. In the film, he appeared with a group of re-enactors.

“I didn’t know much about being an extra, so I kind of muddled through it,” Youngblood said. “Robert Redford walked up to me, and we had a conversation. He was a very nice guy.”

One of the biggest stars of the evening was Savannah herself. As Redford said in his blog, “We had to duplicate Washington in 1865 and we certainly couldn’t afford to build it.

“We scouted all up and down the eastern seaboard and found Savannah to be the best option,” Redford said. “The buildings look the way they did in the 1800s.”

The streets were covered with dirt and mulch to give them the authentic muddy feeling they would have had in the days of horses and carriages and no pavement. “Washington didn’t look anything like it does today,” Redford said. “There was the Capitol, but the Washington Monument was only a quarter built and most of the city was fields, where cows and animals strayed.”

In one scene, Fort Pulaski is seen in the foreground. Through the magic of special effects, the U.S. Capitol dome can clearly be seen behind it.

“Everyone burst out laughing at that point,” Osterberger said. “If you live here, you know that it’s Savannah.”